Selva Negra Mountain Resort and Coffee Estate is a historical coffee farm founded in 1891 by German immigrants. Since 1976 it has also been a tourist resort. It is located in the department of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, just 11 kilometres (7 min) from the city of Matagalpa.
In the 1850s when gold was discovered in California, many American and European passengers made their way to California crossing the Isthmus of Central America through Nicaragua. On one of those trips, a German couple (Ludwig Elster and Katharina Braun) from the region named Black Forest (Selva Negra in Spanish) in Germany chose to stay in Nicaragua rather than continue to San Francisco. Instead of looking for gold, they planted the first coffee beans in this region. Coffee came to be of very good quality, so soon many other Europeans and Americans showed up to do the same.
The activities are all eco-touristic: mountain hiking, horseback riding, birdwatching, and tours of the coffee plantation. The farm is well known for protecting the forest, birds, and wildlife sanctuary. Kühl has also devoted himself to preserving and recording the region’s history.